


"To Surgery We Go"

by Kcolrehssemloh



Category: Benedict Cumberbatch - Fandom
Genre: DaddyBatch, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-16
Updated: 2014-03-26
Packaged: 2018-01-15 22:23:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1321387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kcolrehssemloh/pseuds/Kcolrehssemloh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shelby, your four year old daughter with Benedict has a doctors appointment today and you both find out some terrifying news.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt- Can you write another triplet fic with Shelby and the boys? They're my favorite!  
> Shelby can't climb the monkey bars so Ben helps her and since she's very tiny she needs help getting up the steps and stuff (can it be like you find out she has a heart condition and you feel like it's your fault) bc I'm feeling emotional lmao  
>  \- nutell-ahh
> 
> Okay this ended up being way longer than I had planned, I got wrapped up in it. I'm going to go cry now...

"Daddy! Help me please?" Shelby asked Ben for help climbing the monkey bars at the playground. The boys Samuel and Sebastian were well on their way to the top, Shelby was the smallest of the triplets. She stayed sicker than the boys also, she had a doctor appointment coming later in the day to get a check up and see what could be going on.

"Yes princess I can help you. Put your hand here and your foot here." Ben answered.

"Daddy don't let me fall." She spoke.

"I have you, you won't fall." Ben grabbed her sides so he could help her reach the top with the boys.

"See there you go! You did it!" Ben exclaimed as she reached the top.

"Yay daddy!!" She cheered. Ben's phone rang, it was you call him to come home so that you two could take Shelby to the doctors a sitter was staying with Sam and Bass so you two could concentrate fully on what the doctor was saying. 

"Okay, well be home in a few minutes." Ben said and hung up the phone "okay kids, we have to go home so Shelby can go to the doctor." 

The boys jumped down with ease but Shelby held her hands out for Ben to help her down.

"There you go sweetie." He said as he placed her back on the ground safely. 

"Okay we all hold hands remember. Everyone has a hand to hold?" Be got ready to walk home with the kids, in the house was just a block away.

"Yes daddy." The kids said and they all began to walk home.  
********  
By the time poor little Shelby got home she was so tired she fell asleep as soon as she walked in the door. Ben carried her upstairs and dressed her for the doctor while you went over some things with the sitter. Ben returned downstairs with Shelby dressed up in a cute pink polka dot dress with a little white bow, she was so small she had to wear a toddler three size clothing instead of four like her brothers. 

"Ready?" He whispered to you. 

"Yeah, okay call me if you need anything Katie." You spoke to the sitter as you walked out.

Ben placed Shelby in her pink floral car seat gently and kissed her forehead before getting in the drivers side and pulling off.

"What time is the appointment?" He asked you.

"Two, we have thirty minutes to get there." 

"Plenty of time then." He said as he drove down the street heading to Evelina London Children's Hospital in Lambeth London where Shelby's doctor was located. Her family doctor was sending you two to a heart specialist at the hospital because of the symptoms she was having.

"You okay?" Ben asked you.

"Yeah...nervous but I'm okay." You answered and felt Ben reach for your hand, you held it and looked out the window.  
**********  
Twenty minutes later you both pulled up to the hospital and parked.

"Come on sweetheart." Ben gently picked Shelby up, she was still asleep.

You straightened her dress out and combed her hair with your fingers. Walking into the hospital you were directed to the doctors office and got checked it and sat down to wait.

"Shelby, sweetie you need to wake up okay." Ben rubbed her back gently. She stirred a little and held her head up. She rubbed her eyes as she woke up.

"Nice nap baby?" You asked her.

"Where are we?" She asked still have asleep.

"You're at the doctors office." You told her. She laid her head back onto her daddy's shoulder and started to drift off to sleep. 

"Shelby you need to stay awake princess." Ben spoke softly.

"Shelby Cumberbatch?" The nurse called. You both stood up and Shelby was now awake again.

"Hi Shelby, can I get you to step onto the paw prints right here?" The nurse pointed to two paw prints places on a scale. Ben placed her on the paw prints and Shelby looked back up to Ben wanting him to pick her back up.

"Stay still just for a second okay, then I will pick you back up." Ben said.

"Good job princess. Can we see how tall you are?" The nurse then asked. 

"Look Shelby, it's a giraffe. Can you see how tall you are compared to it?" You said playfully, trying to calm her. She walked over and stood straight up and was measured.

"That's great Shelby, okay I think we are ready to take you to see the doctor. What room would you like? We have a princess room, a jungle room, a pirate room, and a ocean room." The nurse spoke in a kind and pleasant manner.

"The princess room..." Shelby said so low as she was shy. 

"That's my choice too." The nurse said and lead the three of you into the room.

"Okay, can you sit up here for me Shelby?" The nurse patted a table that was decorated like a castle. Benedict lifted her up and sat her down on the table. 

"The doctor will be here soon okay?" The nurse said and left the room, closing the door behind her.

"Can we go?" Shelby asked.

"Not yet sweetheart." Ben said as he stood beside her, making sure she didn't try to get off the table.

"Come in." You said as a knock was heard at the door.

"Hello, I'm doctor Ragnisten." The doctor said as he walked in and shook your hand, Ben's hand and then Shelby's.

"So you must be Shelby, right?" The doctor said. She didn't speak she just nodded her head timidly.

"So it says here you've been very tired, you are under the average weight and height and you get sick a lot." Dr. Ragnisten spoke to her then looked at you and Ben to answer.

"Yes, she's always been the smallest of the triplets but lately she's been getting sick a lot and tires very easy." You spoke up.

"Can I take a listen to your heart Shelby?" The doctor asked, Ben laid her down on the table and lifted her dress up for the doctor to listen. 

"It's an abnormal heart beat here but it says it's been there since birth. Is that right?" He asked.

"Yes, we've been keeping an eye in it and try to limit her playtime as much as we can but lately when she started getting sick so much and fatigued we decided to get it checked my a specialist." Ben answered.

"I need to do an ultrasound on her heart to find out more about what might be going on."

"Okay." You both say.

"I'll go get the ultrasound machine and return in just a moment." The doctor said as he left the room.

"Now can we go home!" Shelby looked up to Ben as soon as the doctor was out of sight.

"Not yet, we have one more thing to do." He answered.

"What is it?" She asked you.

"The doctor wants to take a look at your heart on a monitor." You replied.

"Will it hurt?" She looked back to Ben, she looked at him as her protector, her hero.

"Not at all baby doll." He said making her giggle.

"Okay Shelby, we need to take a look at your heart okay. Can you take your dress off so it doesn't get messed up?" The doctor asked and Ben removed her dress.

"Lay down for me okay." Ben said as he laid her back down.

The doctor got out the jelly they use for ultrasounds.

"Daddy..." Shelby started to cry.

"It's okay, it's just cold. It won't hurt princess okay. Shh shh." Ben spoke to her trying to calm her down but she still whimpered.

"This is just going to roll across your chest okay. It won't hurt, look up at that monitor to see a picture of your heart." The doctor said. The nurse that returned to the room flipped the lights off and the doctor began.

"Daddy..." Cried Shelby again.

"I'm right here darling. It's okay. Look, look at the Telly, your heart is on the Telly." Ben spoke as he rubbed her small leg.

"Mummy!" She cried out and you rushed over to her feet and stood beside Ben.

"I'm right here sweetheart. It's okay." You spoke, soothing her with your soft voice.

"Okay, we are all done." Dr. Ragnisten said and the nurse turned the lights on again. 

"I did find an abnormality." He spoke as the nurse left the room and you cleaned the jelly off of Shelby's chest and put her dress back on.

You felt your breath catch in your throat and Ben took your hand hand in his. 

"It's Ebstien's anomaly, Ebstein anomaly is a congenital heart defect in which the septal leaflet of the tricuspid valve is displaced towards the apex of the right ventricle of the heart. In other words, Ebstein's anomaly is a rare heart defect that's present at birth. In Ebstein's anomaly, the tricuspid valve — the valve between the chambers on the right side of the heart — doesn't work properly. Blood leaks back through the valve, making the heart work less efficiently." The doctor explained.

"Was this passed on from one of us?" You asked.

"It is passed from parent to child, it could have been absent and had occurred in an earlier generation of one of your families, or it can be from the mother taking sleep aids or mood-stabilizing drugs" He explained.

"Treatment?" Ben asked.

"It can be treated with medication unless the leak gets worse in which case we would try to repair it or replace it. We also need to keep a regular watch on it with visits every six months, I'd say right now... But..." The doctor added and you felt your heart sink to your stomach.

"But, with the signs she displaying right now. The fatigue, the under growth and weight and due to the things I found on the scan I think we may need to talk about having surgery now. I need to do an Electrocardiogram to see her heart rhythm, it will give me more of an idea of what we are dealing with." He left the room to go get the machine and leads and came back with them in short order, he stuck the sensors on Shelby's arms and chest and hooked the leads to them and watched as the beats came up on the screen.

"Yes I do see an irregular heartbeat, I do think we should go ahead and do the surgery. It shouldn't get any worse before we treat it. She'll always have to be on medication but the surgery will help tremendously and she should start to grow like a normal child."

You held Benedict's hand so tight you thought for sure it would break.

The doctor explained about the surgery and what would be done then sent you all in your way, much to Shelby's relief. 

"Are we going home now?" Shelby asked as Ben carried her in one arm and held your hand with the other.

"Yes darling, we're going home." He spoke softly, trying not to cry in front of her. 

You climbed in the car and looked out the window the entire ride home, tears streamed down your face.   
**********  
The kids are in bed finally and you and Ben finally have a moment to take the news in. Sitting on the sofa you broke down crying.

"Hey, come here." Benedict pulled you close to him and wrapped his arms around you, rubbing your arm with his hand and placing small pecks on your head.

"It's my fault..." You wept, tears soaking his shirt.

"No, it's not your fault love."

"But it is Ben, I used to take antidepressant medication... The doctor said it could have caused it." You continued to weep.

"I'm so sorry Benedict, I'm so sorry." You cried.

"Shhhh, I'll have none of that talk darling. It happens and they are going to fix this I promise." He rocked you side to side a little.

"My little girl and I've made her sick...I'm a horrible mother. Horrible person." 

"No, shh. You are a wonderful mother... I never want to hear you say those words again. You are the best mother to our children I could have ever wished for."

You continue to cry until you've fallen asleep on Benedict's lap right there on the sofa. He strokes your hair lightly as you sleep.

"We'll get through this together," He said softly as tears formed in his eyes "as a team."


	2. Surgery Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shelby has her operation today, thankfully you and Ben have each other to lean on on this stressful day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't have time to proof it so sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes, it's really late.

It was the day of Shelby's surgery and Ben's parents Wanda and Timothy stayed over the night before. Shelby had to be at the children's hospital by five so you and Ben needed to be out of the house by four thirty. Tim and Wanda were staying over to keep the boys while Shelby was in the hospital. 

"Ben, could you get Shelby for me? She can stay in her pjs and hopefully stay asleep until we get to the hospital." You say as you wipe a few tears away. 

"Yeah, I'll be right back." He heads upstairs quietly to get Shelby from her bed and then returns back downstairs to get a few more things together before leaving.

"Let us know when she's out of surgery okay?" Wanda whispers so she wouldn't wake Shelby in Ben's arms.

You can't say anything without crying so you nod your head and hug her tightly then hug Timothy.

"It's going to be okay dear." Wanda says. She kisses Shelby on her cheek and then Ben on his. Ben is upset too and can't speak.

"Be care driving there, we'll talk to you later." Timothy says quietly as you three head out the door. Ben places Shelby in her coarsest softly and buckles her in, she doesn't wake up much to the relief of you and Ben. If she woke up and saw the two of you upset she would be upset. You sit in the passenger seat and Ben closes your door for you before going to the drivers side and getting in. 

"Do you know where we have to go once we get there?" Ben asks.

"Um, on her papers it says we go to the Savannah ward on the fourth floor then enter the Camel cardiac unit." Through some soft cries.

"Hey, it's going to be okay." Ben holds your hand and rubs small circles with his thumb. You nod and look out the window. Ben checks the mirror every once in a while to see if Shelby is still sleeping. She sleeps all the way until you drive across the Westminster Bridge. 

"Where are we going?" She looks around with sleepy eyes. You take a deep breath and swallow before mustering up the courage to not cry when you speak.  
"Remember, today you are going to get your heart fixed." 

"Can we just wait to do it?" Shelby asks innocently.

" I'm afraid not princess." Ben said as he parked the car near the hospital. "Come on." He picked her up from the car seat. 

"Look at those funny statues." You point to a few sculptures that stand near the entrance to the children's hospital.

The three of you enter a grand space, glass surrounded you and it stood six stories tall with two central elevator pillars in the middle. The wards were named for different environments and it was marked clearly on the elevator walls. 

"What floor is the Savannah ward on Shelby?" Ben asked. Shelby was starting to read better and better now days.

"4!" She pointed to the sign.

"That's right, good job. Now can you press the button for '4'?" Ben said kneeling down so Shelby could reach it and she pushed '4'.

"Awesome Shelly belly." You say and smile. The lift opens and you all board it and head almost to the very top. Getting off and turning left you find the door to the Camel unit and press the button on the side. It's a locked unit and you all use the alcohol gel to wash your hands. 

"Hello, how can I help you?" A nurse said over the small intercom. 

"We're here for our daughters heart surgery today." You speak up.

"Name please."

"Shelby Caroline Cumberbatch."

"Okay, please come in and meet me at the desk." The door buzzes and unlocks. It's a sunny yellow color on the walls of the unit and doesn't feel at all like a hospital, murals on the wall makes you feel like you are in the savannah. Shelby points out all the different animals on the walls and counts them all out loud to Ben.

"Shh, whisper okay? Some kids are still asleep." Ben reminds her, she starts whispering. 

"Hello Mr.&Mrs. Cumberbatch, we have a few papers to be filled out before we take Shelby back for pre-op test and preparations." The nurse hands you what seems like a huge stack of papers but it's only five pages and most of it's reading and signing except two medical history and patient information pages. 

There is a small play area and Ben takes Shelby over to play while you fill out papers. You read every single word and you sign on the lines, and fill out all the blanks. You turn the papers in and join Shelby and Ben. It's only a five minute wait until another nurse comes to get Shelby.

"Shelby?" The nurse calls out.

"That's you June bug." Ben says and gets up. Shelby holds his and your hand and you all three walk down the hall to a small exam room.

"We are going to weight you and see how tall you are then we are going to check your heart to see how it's doing today, is that okay?" The nurse asks Shelby, who is suddenly very shy and hides behind Ben's legs. 

"Come on, let's have the giraffe measure you Shelby." The nurse encourages her and Ben talks her into going to get measured. 

"Just perfect." The nurse is all done with weighing and measuring her. "Put this lovely gown on for me okay. The opening should be in the front so we can get to your heart." The nurse pulls out a yellow gown with animals all over it for Shelby to wear. 

"Look isn't that pretty, it's like a dress." You say as Ben takes her pjs off and slips the gown on.   
"So pretty." Ben smiles and lays Shelby back down on the bed.

The nurse comes back in with an IV needle that looks like a butterfly and medicine to make Shelby sleepy and calm.   
"I'm going to rub this cream on your arm and you won't feel a thing." The nurse takes a few drops of the cream and rubs it on Shelby's arm where she has located a vein for the IV. 

"Is it magic daddy?" Abby looks to Ben.

"It's just like magic." He smiled. 

The nurse comes back a few minutes later and Ben and you distract Abby while the nurse inserts the IV in her arm, she doesn't feel a thing and has no idea what happened.   
"I won't be turning it on until the doctor checks her EKG monitor and talks to you both about the surgery. The anesthesiologist will be in and exam her so he can decide the best way to keep her asleep durning the surgery." The nurse informs you and Ben then heads back out the door.

You reach beside you and take Ben's hand in yours, he squeezes it gently. The doctor walks in just then.  
"Morning everyone." He says with a smile.  
"Good morning." You and Ben say, Shelby isn't saying anything.  
"Are you ready to get your heart fixed Shelby?" The doctor asks. Shelby looks to you and Ben for an answer or a reassurance.  
"Yes, we think were ready." Ben speaks up.  
"Alright then..." The doctor explains al about what he will be doing during the surgery and then checks the EKG. "Your heart looks good and strong this morning Shelby, you'll be just fine for surgery." He says. "The anesthesiologist will be in here in a few moments and will help you go to sleep. Any questions?" The doctor adds.

"How long will she be in surgery? And how long will she be in the hospital?" You ask.

"Surgery can vary from patient to patient so I will say anywhere from three to five hours and as far as the hospital stay, most likely five to seven days. I'll talk more about the stay as soon as we are finished with the surgery. Anything else?" The doctor replies.

"I think that's all." Ben speaks up and you both shake the doctor's hand. The anesthesiologist comes in just as the doctor leaves.  
"Morning sunshine." He says and then introduces himself to you and Ben.

"I'm going to be helping the sandman today Shelby, he asked me to sprinkle you with magic sleepy dust and give you sweet dreams, is that okay?" He asks, Shelby smiles for once and nods.  
" okay then, let's check your breathing out with this super duper hearing tool. He puts on his stethoscope and listens to her breathing. "Clear as a bell, you should sleep just fine. I'm going to give you some medicine through this butterfly on your arm. You'll start to get sleepy and then you'll dream sweet dreams. When you feel sleepy don't fight it just close your eyes and drift to sleep." He turns on the IV drip and leaves the room after saying goodbye. He tells you both that you have a few minutes before Shelby falls to sleep. 

"Okay baby girl, you are so brave and mummy and I are so proud of you. When you wake up we will be right beside you okay. I love you princess." Ben kisses Shelby's forehead.  
"Be mummy's big girl okay, I love you sweetheart and daddy and I will be by you as soon as we can." You kiss her on the forehead as you start to cry.   
"Mummy, what's wrong?" Shelby begins to cry a little.  
"No no, don't cry sweetie. I'm happy you are going to feel better after surgery is all." You clear your throat and wipe your tears away. Ben wiped Shelby's tears away and she drifts off to sleep just as the nurses come and get her for surgery. It went a lot better than you were expecting, you thought about how Shelby might be screaming and crying as she was taken back to surgery but your little girl was happily asleep. Ben and you walked down the hall until you reached the restricted area and had to stop. Both you and Ben had tears on your cheeks and a nurse came to lead you to a private waiting room. Once inside you collapse to a couch and start to weep into your hands. Ben kneels down in front of you and rubs your arms and pulls you to him closer, he holds you for awhile until you calm down a bit. He then sits beside you and pulls you over to him he places an arm around you and you cry into his shirt for a little longer as he strokes small circles on your arm.  
"It's okay. She'll be okay." He told you in your ear as he kissed your head softly.  
*********  
You and Ben ended up falling asleep while you both snuggled together. 

Ben wakes up when he hears someone knock on the door. Looking towards the door he sees the doctor there.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Ben says. "Babe, wake up, the doctor is here." He gently shakes you and you sit straight up and rub your eyes trying to wake up.

"I'm sorry." You apologize to the doctor.

"No, it's okay. It's been a stressful morning I understand." The doctor takes a seat before continuing. "You both awake now? I've got good news." 

"Yes yes we are awake now, please continue." Ben spoke up.

"Shelby is out of surgery now, she did just fine. We repaired the valve and closed the hole in her heart. We didn't have any problems or complications. I'm keeping her sedated today and maybe tomorrow as to keep her comfortable and not in pain. The first two days are really the worst, there will be pain for a while but I like to get the kids over the worst of it before waking them up. Since she did so well I hope to be able to send her home in five days, but we will have to see how she does with recovery."

"Oh thank god." Ben sighed in relief.   
"Thank you so much." You tear up a little again.  
"When can we see her?" Ben asks.

"She is recovery right now and then she will be in her room in an hour, a nurse will come and get you both at that time. We allow visitors between 10am-8pm and parents can visit anytime. If neither of you are here and you are expecting a visitor, make sure you tell the nurse or they will be denied entry. We don't like for any other visitors durning meal times as it distracts the children so just parents only."

"Can we stay with her overnight?" You ask.

"One parent is allowed to stay, we have pull down beds right beside the patient beds. We have a Ronald McDonald house at Guy's Hospital if you wish to stay there."

"Okay, thank you doctor." Ben said as he shook his hand then you shook his hand as he left.

"Only one of us can stay, I hate this..." You hug Ben.

"We will figure something out sweetheart. If I have to sleep in a chair in the parents room I will." Ben said.

"You can't sleep in a chair, you need proper rest."

"I'm not leaving this hospital until you and Shelby are with me darling." 

"I better call your mum and let them know she's out of surgery." You say as you pick up the waiting room phone. 

"Hi Wanda, she's out. Everything well as planned. She'll still be sleeping for a day until the doctor feels she can handle the pain." You and Wanda talk for a while and then the nurse comes to get you and Ben so you end the call and rush off to see your sweet baby girl.

"The doctor told you she would be asleep for a day or so right?" The nurse asked.

"Yes he thanks." Ben said before he walked into the room with you.

You two walk in to see your five year old sleeping peacefully in bed even though she had wires and tubes everywhere. It was so scary to she her like this. Taking Ben's hand you and him walk to her bedside.

"Daddy's here princess." Ben choked up and then reached for her little hand to hold. He knew she wouldn't be able to hear what he said to her but he wanted to just be there for her as much as possible. 

"I feel so helpless, my poor baby girl." You cried softly. 

"Hey now, she's in the best hands darling. The doctors and nurses know how to care for her. All we need to do is be here for her even if she doesn't know we're here." Ben pulled you to his side and held you tight with his free arm. He never let go of Shelby's hand, not even once. You held her small foot and rubbed the top of it with your thumb. You and Ben pulled two chairs up to the bedside and sat there all day. Neither of you talked much, you just held hands the three of you were a circle, Ben held your hand, you held Shelby's foot, Shelby's hand was in Ben's. You and Ben didn't eat all day, didn't even drink one cup of tea or coffee. You both wouldn't leave Shelby's side for anything except a restroom break. Night fell and the nurse came to pull down the parent bed. 

"Who's staying with her?" You asked, you knew Ben didn't want to leave her side anymore than you did. 

"Nurse, can we both stay? Please. We won't stir anyone or make any noise. Neither of us wants to leave her side." Ben pleaded

"It's the wards rule, I'm so sorry." The nurse could see the tears in both of your eyes and finally caved. "Until she wakes up, you both can stay in here. I don't have any other bed access though, just the one bed and the chairs." 

"We don't need anything, we will be so quiet you won't know anyone is here." You say happily.

"Good night Mr.&Mrs. Cumberbatch." The nurse leaves after checking on Shelby. 

"Thank you so much." Ben says as she leaves the room. 

"We can lay together." Ben whispers.

"That bed is too small for two of us, I'll sleep in the chair." 

"No no, come on. I'm going to lay here up against the side of Shelby's bed and then you can lay in my arms and cuddle tight to me." Ben laid down as he said he would and you fit perfectly in his arms. After such a stressful day it was nice to finally get some sleep.


End file.
